Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice asked to be subbed off against Chelsea, according to Mikel Arteta, as the Arsenal boss offered a bleak update on the pair.
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Saka limps off in second halfRice plays through broken toeArsenal held to draw by ChelseaFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Saka and Rice were unable to complete the full 90 minutes in Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. Both players were named in Lee Carsley's squad for England's upcoming Nations League ties, but their availability appears in doubt after Arteta admitted the pair "don't look very good".
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Rice was playing through the pain barrier after suffering a broken toe in Arsenal's defeat to Newcastle last weekend. The midfielder didn't train all week but was entrusted to start at Stamford Bridge, although it was a risk that didn't pay off. Saka, meanwhile, limped off with 10 minutes to go.
WHAT ARTETA SAID
"They don’t look very good, to be fair," Arteta told Sky Sports at full-time. When asked if they were long-term issues, the Arsenal boss replied: "I don’t know, but they both couldn’t finish the game so not good."
Arteta also told that the duo asked to be substituted and "weren't feeling good at all".
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Arteta was able to start Martin Odegaard for the first time since August, but he's keen for more players to recover full fitness during the international break.
"Now my biggest thing is physically get everybody at their best because we have players out there who cannot play more than 60 minutes, they are playing and struggling," he added.
"We are having to change a lot of things and that affects our team. What I want in the international break is that we are fully fit and with that I am confident we will have a great season."
